1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for outputting information and forming an image via network.
2) Description of the Related Art
With a recent spread of the local area network (LAN), it is now a common practice that a single image forming apparatus and a plurality of terminals are connected to a network so that the terminals share the single image forming apparatus. Typical examples of such image forming apparatus are a printer and a multifunction product (MFP) in which various functions, such as a printer, a photocopier, a facsimile, and a scanner, are incorporated.
Furthermore, an image forming apparatus with a mechanism for outputting printed sheets to a plurality of sorters is currently in use. With such image forming apparatus, even when a single image forming apparatus is shared by a plurality of users, each user can easily identify and obtain his or her printed sheets. However, when a plurality of users share a single image forming apparatus, contents of the printed sheets are easily seen by others, and it is difficult to manage confidential documents.
To cope with the problem, a technology is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-322337, that enables printing to be started only when a correct secret code preset to a user is entered into the image forming apparatus.
Another method employs a fingerprint by which only a print user authenticated by the fingerprint is allowed to use a network device (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-265739). According to this method, no person other than the print user can take out the printed sheets, thereby ensuring the confidentiality of the documents.
However, in the verification method using a secret code, once the secret code is entered, the printed sheets are delivered to an output tray, and the printed sheets are left in a situation that anyone can see the contents of the documents. Therefore, the user has to monitor the output tray from the beginning to the end of printing, causing a problem of binding the user during the printing process. Moreover, the user has to transmit the secret code with print data at each printing process, which can make a printing operation cumbersome.
On the other hand, in the method of fingerprint verification, the confidentiality of the documents is ensured because no person other than the print user can take out the printed sheets. However, it is not flexible to allow only the print user to use, which may cause inefficient usability.
Therefore, it is desired to develop a flexible technology for forming an image without binding the user while ensuring the confidentiality of documents.